Captology Notebook - Stanford University: Manipulation Pattern: First teach, then sell

April 21, 2004

Manipulation Pattern: First teach, then sell

This year my Stanford course focuses on 10 ways computers can manipulate people. About 45 students are enrolled, and we're having a great time (at least I am!).

Yesterday we examined the role of expertise in manipulation. We saw how computing products often follow a pattern: first they teach; then they sell. One student team (Wilson Chew, Gautam Raghavan, and Ross Stewart) showed how this pattern plays out in HowStuffWorks.com. Other examples include TurboTax (source: Alex Cochran) and TrustMyMechanic.com (source: Jordy Mont-Reynaud).

If you're a careful observer, you'll notice this pattern in the analog world -- when you buy diamonds, when you go to "free" investment seminars, and so on.

The bottom line: You should expect to see this manipulation pattern a lot more often in computing products of the future.

Posted by BJ Fogg at April 21, 2004 07:14 PM

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